Hospital bed



W. RUFF HOSPITAL BED June 3 1924. 1,496,174

Firled June 20, 1922 Y INVENTQR v Wagga/MMW- TTOREY.

Patented June 3, 1924.

WILLIAM naar, or Nnwvoim, NY.

HOSPITAL BED.

Application filed .Tune 20, 1922. Serial No. 559,653.

T o all 'whom t may concern Be it known that l. WILLIAM RUFF, a citizen of the United States, residing at the borough of Manhattan, in the city, county,

and State of New York, have invented certain new'and useful improvements in Hospital Beds, of which the 'following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings, which form a part thereof.

y My inventionr relates to hospital beds, and more particularly to a bed structure wherein the mattress or its support may be Inechanically turned to facilitate cleaning of the bed and may be so set as to promote the comfort of the occupant, a supplemental seat being provided to facilitate the handling of a patient by a nurse or nurses.

Heretofore it has been suggested that beds be so constructed as to permit the mechanical elevation and turning of a mattress or its support to facilitate its inspection and cleaning, and it has been common to' provide davenports or extension beds so as to permit a nursev to rest while in attendance upon a patient. The bed of my invention, however,l is so constructed that the means for raisingA the mattress or its support may also be utilized'to elevate it towards either the head or the foot of the bed to promote the comfort -of the occupant, or to ensure a posture which may be necessary if not comfortable. the supplemental seat being provided lmerely for temporary use and being adjustable vertically so as to accommodate it to the' occupant of the bed, the seat. while not in use being adapted to be moved under the bed.

The 4kinvention consists primarily in a hos` pital bed embodying therein a. head piece, a foot piece, side rails, one of which is rotatable, a vmattress carrier, an' arm pivoted thereto and connected with said rotatable side rail, means whereby the side rail to which said arm is connected may be rotated, and a seat supported from and adjacent a side rail: and in such other novel vfeatures of construction and combination of parts as are hereinafter set forth' and described, and

more particularly point-ed out in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings,

f Fig. 1 is an end view of a bed embodying my invention with portions thereof broken:

awayg and Fig'. 2 is a side view thereof with the seat positioned beneath the bed. f

Like letters refer to like parts `in both of said views.

In the embodiment of the invention as shown in the'drawings, a indicates the head piece of a bed, b the foot piece thereof, and c and d the side rails, one of which as c is rotatably mounted in relation to the head and foot pieces. The mattress carrying member, as a box spring, is shown at e.

Substantially midway between the sides of the member e and at opposite ends thereof, are pivots e and e2 to which are connect ed the arms carried -by the' side' rail c, and secured thereto by mea-ns of strong pins f2-f3 so that either of said arms may be disconnected from said side rail to make the arm so disconnected, inoperative for the purpose of elevating the member e.

Means are provided whereby the said side rail c may be rotated, said means in the form of the invention shown consisting'of a worm gear g carried by said rail, and a worm shaft g oo-operating therewith and carried by either the head or the foot piece of the bed. n

Pivotally mounted upon the other side rail d, are guide arms hik having slidably mounted thereon af frame z' carrying' a ,seat j which may be of any desired construction, the frame z' having grooved portions z" by means of which it is slidably mounted upon said lafuidje arms' 7a4-h. Pivotally mounted upon the side rail c are lever arms c-Jc, the ends of which respectively are pivoted to the lever arms m-m carried by 4and rotatable with a shaft. n mounted. in the guide arms heb adjacent rthefree ends thereof, which construction permits vertical adjustment of said arms t-z/ and the seat ,7' supported therefrom. vTo permit the proper movement of said arms h'-7, they are' bent as `shown more particularly in Fig. 1 of the drawings, so that when the seat is not ref quired for'use, said guides will present a substantially horizontal portion of suiiicient length. to permit the seat to be slid thereon beneath the' mattress carrying member e. The vertical adjustment of said seat through the guide arms h-h is effected by means of a worm gear 0 keyed or otherwise' secured to the shaft n, and a worm shaft o mounted in bearings in the end ofthe guide arm h and fao-operating with; said gear o;

lio

A cranlrrhandle p is provided which ymay be fitted to the squared end of either worm shaft g or o.

The operation of theV herein described hospital bed is substantially as follows Under ordinary conditions the worin gear g and worm shaft g will position the member e as shown in Fig. l, the opposite sides of said member e resting upon the side rails c and d so as to relieve the arms 7?*f from the load of said member and of an occupant of the bed. Then-the parts are so set, the seat j will be positioned beneath the member e, the frame z' sliding freely upon the arms LL, which are of sutiicient length to permit this positioning of the seat.

It willbe readily understood that the spring e may' be an ordinary wire or box spring or a mattress spring, as desired, and that its5 construction is immaterial to the invention. y

If it be desired for the comfort of the patient, to elevate either the head or the foot of said member e, either pin f3 lor f2 may be removed so as to disengage the arm f or f from the rotatable side rail c before the worm gear g is operated by the worm shaftg and the crank handle g, to'rotate the member c and thus raise the arm f or f still connected therewith sufficiently to give a longtitudinal tilt to the entire structure e. Thilo the end of the arms thus operative may describe a slight are, the lateral component of movement of the member e will not be sufficient to materially7 disturb that end thereof whichl is not elevated, or disengage it from the side rails of the bed structure. i

It it be desired to merely inspect the member e and clean same, both pins f2 and f3 are used to connect both arms f and f to the railY c thus causing` the actuation of said rail l to vraise the member e in' its entirety, the length of the arms and f being such that when they are brought to a substantially vertical position as shownin Fig. 2, the member e will be positioned adjacent and above the side rail c so as to be readily turned for purposes of inspection or cleaning.

'It is essential that the arms f and f have considerable rigidity, since in a full sized bed they are required to beat least two feet long and are thus subjected to a considerable load. l

The wormv gear g and wormshaft g are used so as toprevent any possible slippage in raising or lowering the member e inL its entirety, or in raising one end thereof only, as well as to secure aself-locking inschanism which will ensure "the maintenance of the arms fandf inany position to which they-"may be brought. i

When itis desired to use' the seat j, said Seat is drawn outwardly "from beneath the member e by movingthe frame 2'. along the guide arms /-/z. When so drawn from beneath the member e, however, the position of Asaid seat will be so low as to have no utility,

it being essential to elevate it to approximately the level of the member e, 0r the mattress thereon. if such be used. To secure the desired adjustment of said seat j, the worm shaft 0 is actuated by means of the handle g1 to turn the worm gear 0 secured to the shaft 71. This movement of the shaft n will be in a direction to move the ends of the arms m--m pivoted to the lever arms fin-.4" respectively, downwardly, or a clockwise movement of the shaft n, as shown in Fig. l, and will result in an upward pivotal movement of the lever arms lie-" and guide arms /z-'LQ the angular formation of the last named arms causing an outward movement ofthe seat '7' suiiicient to compensate for the arc described by the shaft n, and the links c adjusting' themselves to the arc of movement of the arms iii-m" and Ii-L.

The worm gear and worm'shaft construction o--o is used not so much as a speed reducing mechanism, as to ensure against possible slippage of the actuating means and provide a positive lock to prevent lloads upon the seat 7' causing its displacement and possible injury to the patient or other occupant thereof.

lVith the initial elevation of the seat y', movement thereof inwardly of the bed will be prevented by the side rail c.

The seat 7' may be constructed in any desired manner and may be provided with a hinged cushion seat as shown in the drawings, if so desired.

lhen brought to the proper elevation, said seat will serve as a great convenience when handling a patient upon the bed, or to an attendant upon a patient.

To restore the seat to a position whereit will not be in the way after it has been in use, the worm shaft o and worm gear o may be used to turn the shaft n in the reverse direction to that used when elevating the seat j and its guide arms 7L-i,-eausine` an upward movement in vareV of the arms m-fm and a downward movement of the lever arms 7f3-7c and the guide arms z-h until said guide arms have been brought to the desired level to permit the seat j and its frame z' to be moved inwardly thereupon beneath'theside rail c and the member e. y

It will be observed that the levelY of the seat '7' may be varied to suit` the requirements of a patient. this variance inthe position of said seat being in'relation to the member e.

' Notwithstanding the use of rotatable members and gearsfor affecting an adjustment of the member e and of the sea-t 7',

absolute rigidity in this structure is se'- cured atl all times and accidental orfrapid movementof these parts is prevented.

lf w'henhandling a patient, it is desired to tilt the member e laterally of the' bed, the patientV maybe placed upon the member e adjacent the side rail c4 and said side rail turned whilethe arms f-f are secured thereto by the pins f? and f3 respectively, until the desired lateral inclination of the member c has been secured.

It will be observed that the seat is materially shorter in length than the member e, and is not designed nor suitable for yuse as a cot for the attendant, the dimensionsI of said seat approximating those of the seat of a small chair. i

The actuating mechanisms employed will ensure a slow movement of all, parts, so that a patient cannot be disturbed by a too rapid movement, particularly of the member e.

It is not my intention to limit the invention to the precise details of construcz tion shownfin the accompanying drawings,

it being apparent that such maybe varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Having described aie, ii'iveiiiioii, what r claim as new and )desire to have protected by Leters Patent, is

l. A hospital bed embodying therein `a head piece, a foot piece, side rai l s, one of which is rotatable, Aa mattress carrier, an arm pivoted thereto at each end thereof and connected with said rotatable side rail, and means whereby the side rail to which said arms are connected may be rotated.

2. A hospital bed embodying therein a head piece, a foot piece, side rails, one of which is rotatable, a mattress carrier, an arm pivoted thereto at each end thereof and connected with said rotatable side rail, means whereby either of said arms may be disconnected from said side rail to permit the elevation of only one end of the carrier. and means whereby the side rail to which said arms are connected may be rotated.

3. A hospital 'bed embodying therein a head piece, a. foot piece, side railsv` one of which is rotatable, a mattress carrier, an arm pivoted thereto at each end thereof and connected with said rotatable side rail, a worm gear carried by said rotatable side rail, and a worm shaft (3o-operating therewith whereby the side rail to which said arms are connected may be rotated.

4. A hospital. bed embodying therein a head piece. a foot piece, side rails, one of which is rotatable, a mattress carrier, an arm pivoted thereto at each end thereof and connected with said rotatable side rail, means whereby either of said arms may be disconnected from said side rail to permit the elevation of 'only one yend of the carrier,"

which is rotatable, a 'mattress carrier, an

arm pivoted thereto at each end thereof and connected with said rrotatable side rail, means whereby the side rail to which said arms are connected may be rotated, guide arms pivotally mounted upon the othersid'e rail and extending adjacent said rota-table side rail, a seat carrying frame slidably mounted upon said guide arms, and means whereby said guide arms maybe raised or lowered to adjust the elevation of the' Seat nponsaidframe with relation to 4said mattress carrier. f Q 1 6L A ,hospitalbed embodying therein a head piece a foot piece, side rails, one of which is rotatable, a mattress carrier,y an arm pivoted thereto at each end thereof and conn'ectediwith said rotatable side rail, means whereby the side rail to whichlsaid arms are connected may be rotated, guide arms pivot-ally mounted upon the other side rail and extending adjacent said rotatable side rail, a seat carrying frame slidably mount-- ed upon saidguide arms, lever arms pivotally mounted upon said rotatable side rail, a shaft carried by said guide arms, lever arms carried thereby and pivotally connected with said first named lever arms respectively, and means whereby said shaft may be rotated to raise or lower said guide arms and adjust the seat upon said seat carrying frame with relation to the mattress carrier.

7. A hospital bed embodying therein a head piece, a foot piece, side rails, one of which is rotatable, a mattress carrier, an arm pivoted thereto at each end thereof and connected with said rotatable side rail, means whereby the side rail to which said arms are connected may be rotated, guide arms pivotally mounted upon the other side rail and extending adjacent said rotatable side rail, a seat carrying frame slidably mounted upon said guide arms, lever arms pivotally mounted upon said rotatable side rail, a shaft carried by said guide arms, lever arms carried thereby and pivotally connected with said first named lever arms respectively, a worm gear carried by said shaft and a worm shaft (zo-operating therewith whereby said shaft may be rotated to raise or lower said guide arms and adjust the seat upon said seat carrying frame with relation to the mattress carrier. 8. A hospital bed embodying therein a headpiece, a foot piece, side rails, one of which is rotatable, a mattress carrier, an arm pivoted thereto at each end thereof and connected with said rotatable side rail, means whereby the side rail to which said arms are connected may be rotated, guide arms pivotally mounted upon the other side rail and :being so `bent as to provide a substantially horizontal portion extending' adjacent said rotatable side rail, a seat carrying` frame slidably mounted upon the horizontal portion of said guide arms, and means whereby said guide arms may be raised or lowered to adjust the elevation of the seat upon said frame with relation to said mattress carrier.

9. A hospital ,bed embodying therein a headpiece, a foot piece, side rails, one of which is rotatable, a mattress carrier, an arm pivotedthereto at each end thereof and connected with vsaid rotatable side rail, a worm gear carried by said rotatable side rail, a worm shaft co-operating therewith whereby the side rail to which saidv arms are connected maybe rotated. guide arms pivotally mounted upon the other side rail and eX- tending adjacent said rotatable side rail, a seat carrying frame slidablyfmounted upon said guide arms, lever arms pivotally mounted upon said rotatable side rail` a. shaft carried b y said guide arms, lever arms carried thereby and pivotally connected with said first named lever arms respectively, a worm gear carried by said shaft and a worm shaft eosoperating therewith whereby said shaft may be rotated to raise or lower said guide arms and adjust the seat upon said seat carrying frame with relation to the mattress carrler.

10. A hospital bed embodying therein a head piece, a foot piece, side rails, one of which is rotatable, a mattress barrier, an arm pivoted thereto at each end thereot` and connected with said rotatable side rail, a worm gear carried by said rotatable side rail, a worm shaft (3o-operating,- therewith whereby the side rail to which said arms are connected may be rotated., guide arms pivotally mounted upon the other side rail and being so bent as to provide a substantially horizontal portion extending adjacent said rotatable side rail, a seat carrying frame slidably mounted upon the horizontal portion of said guide arms, lever arms pivotally mounted upon said rotatable side rail`r a shaft carried by said guide arms` lever arms carried thereby and pivotally eon-` nected with said first named lever arms respectively, a worm gear carried by said shaft and af worm shaft co-operating therewith whereby said shaft may be rotated to raise or lower said guide arms and adjust the seat upon said seat carryingl frame with relation to the mattress carrier.

In witness whereof I have hereunto aHiXed my signature, in the presence of two subscribingt witnesses, this 16th day of June, 1922.

WILLIAM RUFF. lVit-nesse's F. T. VVENTWORTH, f FRIEDA KOEHLER. 

